History of Rock Music
The history of rock music isn't cut and dry. Many individuals debate who the first rock singer was and what the first rock song was. However, it is known that the history of rock music comes from the old R&B mixed with some country and western and fused with a little rockabilly.The exact time period that the history or rock music started in is not known. There were rock and roll elements showing up in blues songs and old country western songs as far back as the 20's and 30's. By the 1950's the history or rock music had begun.
The phrase rock and roll used to have a sexual connotation attached to it. The phrase sometimes contained to two meanings. It appeared to mean dancing but was also associated with sex. It was first used in the title of Trixi Smith's 1920's song, “My baby rocks me with one steady roll.” However, it was Alan Freed a disc jockey from Ohio that first came up with the phrase rock and roll in 1955. With that, the history of rock music was well under way.
As stated before, just who started the history of rock music is under debate. This is because rock and roll music evolved from different genres and some songs that belonged to the blues, jazz, country, and gospel genres offered elements that could be considered rock and roll. However, it was Bill Haley's song, “Rock around the clock” that became popular enough to top the Billboard music charts.
In the history or rock music there have been many icons. Among the earliest rock stars are names like Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard. These early stars of the history or rock music led to the popularization or rock and a culture change that shocked the world. The dance crazes, fashion styles, and pop culture that followed the early history of rock music were made possible by these early stars.
Classic Rock Music
Classic rock music will always be around. It is music that has withstood the tests of time. Although we will always love the way these songs were sung by their original artists, it is also fun to hear them revamped by our favorite modern artists. Below is a list of some of the popular cover songs made possible by classic rock music.Covering classic rock music means that you can cross this music over to any genre you want. This can be seen with the Stevie Nicks song “Landslide”. This song was taken by the Dixie Chics and transitioned well into their country/pop genre.
Dwight Yoakam was also successful in converting classic rock music into country. In 1999 he did this with the song “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”. This song was originally performed by Queen in 1979. Both versions are popular and hold their own followings.
Phil Collins has had many hits both on his own and with the group Genesis. In 1981 he had a hit song with “In the Air Tonight”. Now, the song is a hit again. This time it is being performed by Nonpoint who revamped the song in 2004. With a new hard core feel, the song is being performed for a younger crowd.
If you have ever watched the movie Gothika, you might have recognized some classic rock music that had a new feel to it. This 2003 film contained the Limp Bizkit song “Behind Blue Eyes”. However, it was The Who that first performed this song in 1971.
The first Scream movie released in 1996 also held some transformed classic rock music. This popular horror movie had a remake of the 1976 hit song “Don't Fear the Reaper”. This Blue Oyster Cult song was redone with a slower beat to match the eerie movie.
Hard Rock Music
There are a lot of fans of hard rock music. Most of these fans like their music loud. That is the best way to listen to hard rock music. However, that is also the best way to loose your hearing. Most people don't realize that loud music is just as bad for your hearing as working in a factory or shooting guns without proper ear protection. This is why it is important to be careful when listening to hard rock music.When listening to hard rock music make sure that you do not have the volume all the way up. If you notice that you always have to turn up the volume just to hear the music than you may be loosing your hearing. Your hearing can also be affected by the equipment used to play your hard rock music. For instance, ear plugs and headphones are much more likely to hurt your hearing than speakers are. So, be careful when listening to your ipod or walkman.
One of the most harmful ways to listen to hard rock music is at a concert. Since, there is nothing like seeing your favorite rock band live on stage, you can do some things to lessen the effect. You can wear ear plugs to the concert. Even with earplugs you will still be able to hear the concert. You can also sit further away from the stage and try not to get too close to any speakers.
Hard rock music is a great form of expression. However, a little caution will keep you from regretting your passion for loud music. Keeping the volume at a moderate level and protecting your ears will help you enjoy hard rock music well into your golden years. A fan of hard rock music can now be a fan for life.
Southern Rock Music
The rock music charts is a system designed to keep track of the top selling rock albums in the United States, but there are also rock music charts to show world wide statistics on the sales of rock albums. Many different magazines have music charts for all types of music and there are even rock music charts for unsigned bands that can be found on the internet. Some music charts also take into account radio requests of songs and this will help show popularity of a bands single release. Store sales of music have gone down drastically in recent years with many people buying their music online and putting the songs right into their mp3 players, this is why it is essential for the music charts to account for online record sales.The very first rock and roll song to make it onto any music charts was Bill Haley’s song titled “Rock Around the Clock”. This was a big moment in history since at the time rock and roll was still a new music, and to many parents they looked at rock and roll as noise, or to some the music of the devil. As rock and roll became more popular it began to have its own rock music charts, which focused on rock and not all of the other styles of popular music at the time, like Motown, which was just beginning in the motor city of Detroit. Many different styles or rock and roll have dominated the rock music charts in the different periods from the charts beginnings to modern time. There were years where southern rock dominated and then it was a lot of the new wave and punk bands. Eventually the eighties arrived and many of the rock/metal bands were dominating until the alternative music craze started in the 90’s, and the grunge scene dominated the charts throughout the 90’s. In the modern day and age many of the rock charts are dominated by pop/punk bands and alternative bands, but many seventies inspired bands have been on the rise.
